Trump To Sign Order Dismantling Education Department Thursday

President Donald Trump is expected to sign a long-awaited directive Thursday to officially wind down the Education Department, following weeks of moves to steadily winnow the agency’s staff and spending.

Trump’s pending executive order directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate” her department's closure "and return education authority to the States," according to a summary of the order obtained by POLITICO. The pending order will also tell McMahon to ensure the department continues to deliver its services, programs, and benefits.

The Trump administration isalready making steep workforce cutsat the agency — including hundreds of attorneys, student aid workers and civil rights office staff. The precise language of the order, which Trump is expected to sign during an event in the East Room, was not immediately available.

Several Republican governors, including Greg Abbott of Texas, Mike Braun of Indiana, Ron DeSantis of Florida and Mike DeWine of Ohio, are expected to be in attendance.

The order also directs that programs or activities receiving any remaining Education Department funds will not advance diversity, equity and inclusion, or gender ideology, according to the White House.